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Wife Swap
Series 8: Episodes 1 - 2

Episode One

Pete Burns
The recently married Pete Burns and his husband, Michael Simpson, swap places with the hard man of football, the notorious Neil "Razor" Ruddock, and his partner, ex-page-three glamour girl Leah Newman.

Burns, who shot to fame in the eighties with the hit single You Spin Me Round, is well-known for his cosmetic surgery and for his straight-talking, feisty personality.

No one gets the better of Pete, and husband Michael takes care of everything in Pete's life. Pete has created his lifestyle and his image to suit himself: he's transformed his looks and is famed for his extraordinary fashion sense, taking over an hour to get himself ready in the morning.

By contrast, Ruddock's partner Leah would love some more me-time in her life. Since having their seven-month-old baby, nick-named Pebbles, the former page-three model dotes on both Pebbles and Razor, leaving little time to get back to her career.

Housework is an unknown occupation for Razor, as is changing his baby's dirty nappies: when Leah needs help, she's learned not to expect Razor to pitch in, but to ask her parents, who live locally, to help her with the baby.

How will Pete deal with being a desperate housewife? And although Leah is thrilled at the thought of being waited on like Pete Burns how will she cope being him?

Find out more about Pete and Leah


Episode Two

Jess Pearson
Jess and Lou Pearson-Faith are a lesbian couple from Essex. They live together in a council flat with Jess's three children from a previous marriage.

Two years ago Jess met Lou and, despite a ten-year age gap, they became one of the first couples to wed in a same-sex civil ceremony and now have plans for a child of their own.

Lou takes care of the housework, including all the ironing, cooking and washing, while Jess manages the kids. But, aside from the household chores and Lou's part-time bar job, Jess and Lou have nothing else to occupy their time. With no full-time jobs, they are reliant on benefits for their income.

Two hundred miles away in Cheshire, there's no time to sit around for traditional farming family the Berrisfords - mum Mandy, dad Mick, 14-year-old son Tom and 13-year-old daughter Emma.

In the Berrisford household, Mandy looks after the house and kids, while traditional dad Mick works over 70 hours a week on the farm and expects to be taken care of at the end of a hard day's work.

For Mandy, work doesn't end with the domestic chores, as she is constantly being summoned by Mick on the mobile to come and help with everything from milking to mucking out. And she does it all on the meagre allowance she receives from her husband.

How will Mick react when he discovers that the Pearson-Faiths get more money through benefits than he earns on his farm? And how will Jess cope when she learns that Mick would sooner disown his son than accept him if he came out as gay?


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